True love is meant to happen
by judjolie
Summary: Last Chapterrn(EricCalleighHoratioYelina)
1. eric gets shot

CHAPTER ONE

**AN:** This is my first CSI miami fiction. I hope you like it. Please don't hold it against me if there are some mistakes (which will certainly be the case) in it. As I am from Belgium, English is not my first language. I hope you understand. ENJOY

Calleigh and Eric drove through one of Miami's richest neighbourhoods and stopped at the house with the yellow crime scene do not cross lint. Outside, the house looked loving and warm but as soon as they entered the house turned dark and chilly.

Earlier that day, a young woman Mrs Kate Harrison was murdered. She was shot four times. Once in the head and three times in the stomach. There were obvious marks of a forced entry but the fact that Yelina hadn't been able to locate or contact the husband, made Horatio and Calleigh suspicious of him. Eric on the other hand seemed self assured. He told Calleigh not to worry and that he would protect her. She knew he would, he always did.

Eric left Calleigh downstairs to check the master bedroom for more evidence. The evidence they gathered that morning wasn't enough to determine whether the missing husband was or wasn't involved. The neighbours told the Csi- team the couple was happily married and that Thomas Harrison loved his wife more than anything. They stated he would die for her. The sister in law, on the other hand, had an entirely different story. She says he'd sometimes beat Kate up for no reason. Nothing Kate did was ever good enough. No loving husband but a loose canon according to her. He even threatened her once for helping her sister.

Calleigh just found something important when she heard noises of a struggle upstairs. She hadn't reached the stairs yet or she heard the gunshots. When she entered the bedroom, gun drawn, she saw Eric laying on the ground. His once white shirt had turned red. After clearing the room Calleigh called 911 and kneeled down trying to stop the bleeding.

"It's okay Eric, it's gonna be okay. Medics will be here in a minute." She gave him a comforting smile. Eric tried to speak but Calleigh placed her finger on his lips, saying he shouldn't try to speak to safe his strengts. Calleigh, having flashbacks of Speed, let a tear roll down her cheek. Eric grabbed her hand "Cal…Calleigh..I ..There's something I.." Again Calleigh interrupted him. But Eric was going to say what he wanted to say. "Cal..If this doesn't end well.."

"Don't say that Eric" Calleigh said in a high emotional voice, as more tears rolled down her cheeks. "You're gonna be fine." She kept pressuring the wound but the bandages were soaked in blood. She knew he was hurt bad. She knew he was going to be lucky if he survived this, since the bullet hadn't exited his body.

"I love to see" Eric coughed a few times before he went on "I love to see you in the morning, to work with you…" He needed to catch his breath first then he kept going "I love the hours we spent on thinking of the possible theories." He coughed a few times again. "I love that smile you make… that smile when you match a bullet with a murder weapon." He needed to catch his breath again "I love the way you smell" Calleigh let a small smile appear on her face but it quickly changed into a scared and concerned look when she noticed Eric was closing his eyes. "Eric" softly slapping him, but hard enough for him to open his eyes. "You hold on Eric, stay with me." She let a sigh of relieve when she heard the sirens in the distance, although she knew he wouldn't be out of the woods yet.

Horatio arrived just a minute after the medics did. In order to let the medics do their job, he left the house to get some fresh air. He probably wouldn't admit it, but he needed it. This whole thing brought back the memories of Speed with which he thought he had come to terms with. It was obvious he didn't. He took a deep breath and turned around, only to see Rick approaching him. "You should really let your team check their guns. This is the second one in a short period." Horatio was filled with anger. He walked up to Rick who was keeping his distance and pushed him. Calleigh who witnessed the whole thing (since she was letting the medics do their job) stepped in between before things were said or done which could never be undone. Calleigh told Horatio she was riding with the ambulance to the hospital and that he should meet her at the hospital. Horatio nodded and followed Calleigh but stopped at the point where Rick stood and said: "This isn't over" Rick nodded in agreement.


	2. good news

CHAPTER TWO

**AN: thank you for the reviews.**

Hours passed without news on Eric's condition. That was a good thing Calleigh told herself. No news is good news… But the longer it took, the more nervous she became. She was grateful, she wasn't alone. Everyone, with the exception of Yelina who was still at the crime scene and Alexx. Otherwise she'd have gone crazy with if there wasn't anybody to tell her he'd be okay. She still hadn't fully recovered from Speed's death, she just couldn't handle another loss.

Somewhere she felt guilty for thinking she couldn't live without Eric, when she seemed to be doing well without Speed but that was because she felt differently about the two men. Speed was a good co- worker and a very good friend but Eric, Eric was something more. He was her buddy, her best friend, the one person she could tell everything to without ever being judged, besides Horatio of course. There were just so many emotions going through her mind she couldn't think clearly anymore.

She buried her head in her hands, when she felt a hand rubbing her back. She looked up to see Alexx. She had just finished the autopsy on Kate Harrison. "I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?" Calleigh said she was, but Alexx knew she was lying. Alexx sensed there was something going on between those two lately. She knew they weren't dating or anything but there just was something about the way they behaved around each other.

After another 30 minutes Calleigh politely asked if anyone needed a soda or a coffee before she left the room. Actually she didn't want a soda, but she wanted to escape that room for some time. The waiting was driving her crazy. Horatio noticed that and followed her to the vending machine. There he let his hand rest on her shoulder. Without looking Calleigh knew it was Horatio. She turned to him and said "He's going to be okay, I know he is."

Horatio nodded and responded "Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you?" Calleigh smiled.

Calleigh broke out in tears when she told what happened to Horatio. She told him what she did when she heard the heard the gunshot, how she tried to keep the pressure on the wound…

Horatio tried to comfort her by telling her she did everything she could and that she was not to blame. It was hard for Calleigh to believe that but somewhere she had to admit he had a point. She couldn't have known the killer would return. She nor Eric was to blame. She froze when Alexx interrupted and said the doctor was waiting for them.

Calleigh spotted the doctor in the room but she was to nervous to enter. She felt her heart skip several beats. "I'm with you Calleigh" she heard Horatio say and together they entered.

"Although we lost him once on the table, the operation was a success. We still need to do some tests when he regains consciousness but he'll probably make a full recovery." "Can we see him?" Horatio asked with a sigh of relieve in his voice. "Only one person for now"

Horatio nodded and told Calleigh to follow the doctor and she had to say hey to Eric from the others. She said she would and followed the doctor.

Calleigh entered the room where Eric was sleeping. She first gave him a kiss on his forehead, then she sat down on the chair next to his bed and grabbed his hand. "Everyone said hey" She whispered in his ear.

Outside the room and looking at them through the window was Horatio. Eric being shot brought back memories he thought he had come to terms with: the death of Speed. He felt terrible and he desperately wanted to talk to someone, only he didn't want that someone to worry about him. She had done that enough in the past. She never said anything, but he could read it in her eyes. She felt sorry for him because he had to deal with his brother's, speed's death alone.

"Hey, you okay?" Yelina asked concerned and let her hand rest on his shoulder. "I'm okay, so is Eric. The doctor said he should make a full recovery." Yelina said that it was good but she knew he was lying about the okay part. He had that same look in his eyes when Speed was killed. She knew he blamed himself in some way. She also noticed his eyes were a bit watery, like he wanted to cry.

Yelina took his hand in hers and squeezes it. He turned to her and smiled, she gave a smile back.

"You sure, you're okay?" She asked concerned again. "I am now" He answered her. They looked in each others eyes like they used to, before there was any Rick in their life. The moment was interrupted by Yelina's cell phone. He let go of her hand and she answered the phone. Horatio heard her say she was on her way.

"That was Frank, they spotted someone matching Thomas Harrison's description. You coming?" Horatio shook his head and said he'd meet her at the lab, where she was taking him for questioning. She nodded and left for the exit. In the middle way she stopped, turned around and said " If you need to talk or want company or anything you know where I live." Horatio said thanks, followed her outside and watched her leave with running sirens.


	3. Calleigh comes clean

**Chapter three: **

**An:** Thank you for the reviews, they're highly appreciated

Back at the hospital, Calleigh hadn't left Eric's side for more than 5 minutes. Although her friends pointed out there was nothing she could do, she still wanted to stay with him. She wanted to be there when he woke up.

Ryan was there with her. In the beginning she was a bit hostile towards Ryan. Not only did he replace a dear friend of hers, his first case was a hit and run with her father involved. But the more time she spent with him and the more cases they worked together, the more she'd appreciate him and they became good friends.

Yelina waited over an hour for Horatio and when he didn't show up, she started to question the suspect Thomas Harrison without him.

Thomas claimed he didn't know about his wife's death or the attempt on Eric's life until the police arrested him and he of course he denied any possible involvement. Yelina stopped questioning him when she spotted Horatio in the hallway.

"Hey, I waited an hour for you." Horatio looked at her like he had no idea what she was talking about. Yelina gave him a confused look as well. "Thomas Harrison, remember?"

Horatio had to think another minute or two before he realized who she was talking about. "Right Thomas Harrison. What did he tell you?"

"Not much, just that he had nothing to do with it. That their marriage wasn't in any trouble, that he loved his wife dearly and that he would do anything for her.

"You know what, Yelina, I don't believe him." Horatio entered the room, introduced himself and took over the interrogation.

Her conversation with Horatio, scared her. This was the first time Horatio was late without warning her. Plus he didn't remember why she needed him. This really spooked her. She did believe him when he told her he was in the lab and forgot the time, but she paged him more than seven times. He should have noticed that. Anyway, she decided that she would talk to him about it later that evening, if he would let her. She looked at him another minute, then joined him.

Eric tossed and turned a while before he woke up. At first he didn't know where he was but it soon came back to him. His mouth was dry, his shoulder was killing him but he was glad to be still alive. He was even more glad when he spotted Calleigh next to his bed. She was still sleeping, like she had been for quite some time now. Ryan tried to persuade her to go home, before he left for work, but he had no luck…so she was still there.

Eric felt how tight she was holding his hand, like she was never going to let it go. It gave him a good feeling and made his pain more liveable. He waited till she opened her eyes. And even when she just woke up, he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. "Hey" he softly said.

Calleigh was surprised and a bit embarrassed to see him looking at her. She thought she would be the one looking at him instead of the other way round but still she was glad he was awake and talking. "Hey, how are you" she said back just as softly as he did.

"My shoulder hurts but I'll live." An uncomfortable moment of silence followed. Both were thinking about what he said when he was lying in her arms ,dying at the time. Eric wanted to forget all about it. He wanted to acted like it never happened but Calleigh couldn't and broke the silence.

"Eric" They looked in each other eyes and he knew she would turn him down. Still he waited in suspense if that was in fact the thing she was about to say "About what you said earlier…"

Again a pause fell, Eric couldn't take it any longer. "Never mind about that.. I…" He tried to talk his way out of it but Calleigh wouldn't let him. She grabbed his hand and made him look at her. "No, let me finish. I… I like being around you too." She took a deep breathe and went on "I also like to see in the morning and spend so much time trying out theories. Hell I even like the way you smell." They both laughed.

"What does that mean?" Eric asked confused and embarrassed. He felt like he was in high school again. " I don't, you tell me." Now Calleigh starred at the floor embarrassed like she was in her high school years. Although she was always the person that got asked out.

"Maybe I can take you out to dinner sometimes, when I get out of here."

Calleigh nodded, smiled and said: "I'd like that." Eric kissed her hand which made her blush.

"Now get some rest okay." Calleigh gave him a kiss on his forehead and left the room confused but happy.

Without any kind of evidence, Horatio had nothing to hold Thomas any longer and it got to him. Thomas wouldn't break and that got Horatio really frustrated, especially with Rick Stetler looking over his shoulder. They had no choice but to cut him loose.

"Losing your touch Horatio?" Rick asked amused. The last year it was his goal to bring down Horatio. He felt threatened by him because deep down he knew if Horatio wanted Yelina, he would get her. Once, only once in the very beginning, Yelina admitted that she loved Horatio.

"Not now, Rick, not now." Horatio said in a calm voice and wisely walked away. But Rick couldn't help it and made another nasty remark. Yelina, who was talking to Thomas attorney for further arrangements, noticed something was out of the ordinary when she saw Horatio walk back to Rick. She slowly walked towards the two men.

Horatio pushed Rick against the wall and wanted to punch him but Yelina interfered. She just looked at him and Horatio calmed back down. He said sorry to Rick and left for the elevator, not looking back.

"What was that about?" She asked Rick confused. "He's losing it Yelina, and this time he's gone too far." Yelina turned back but Horatio was already gone…


	4. Smart Yelina

CHAPTER FOUR

**AN:** hehe ik versta het zeker en vast Roos! Bedankt voor de aanmoediging (Thank you)

I know that under normal circumstances Eric could not be released yet but let's say it's

possible in the story 

Horatio needed some space and time to think about what had happened the last two days. He went to visit his brother's grave. He kneeled down and laid down the roses which he brought with him before the stone that said beloved husband, father and brother. He removed his sunglasses and wiped a tear away that was rolling down his cheek.

Yelina watched him from her car. At first she wanted to go and talk to him but she figured he'd want some time alone. She had seen him there many times before, always when he wasn't feeling well, mentally. She never interrupted him and always waited till he came over afterwards to talk. He never said he was at the cemetery but she just always knew. She could feel it, the way he talked, the way he looked at her and many other things. Again she decided not to disturb him and drove off to work.

"Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you." Stetler said worried since he didn't know where she was and more important with who she was. Yelina said she just drove around and did some thinking "Alone?" He raised his voice and the conversation seemed to turn into an interrogation which she didn't like at all.

"Excuse me?" Yelina smiled and shook her head. She wanted to leave, give Rick some time to cool down, because frankly she was getting sick and tired of having to explain herself to him. But he wouldn't let her leave yet. He looked around, took her by the arm and led her to a room where they would have some privacy.

"Let go of my arm, you're hurting me." Stetler immediately let go of her arm and apologized for his actions. "What is this about Rick?" She only had to look him in the eyes for 2 seconds before she realized that was yet again about her brother in law.

"I can't believe this. I'm not going over this again with you. Like I said before there's nothing going on between us. And don't give me that look." "What look? Yelina?"

Every argument they had, even the smallest and no matter how it started, no matter what it was about, it would just always end with Horatio. Mainly because of Rick's jealousy. He just couldn't stand how she always felt the need to run to Horatio whenever she had a problem or how she would always defend him, ask him for advice instead of coming to him.

"You know what. I can't deal with this anymore. I'm sorry Rick, but I just can't." She started to walk away, just as she reached the door Rick asked her what she meant. She walked back to him and simply said "it's over"

Back at the lab a highly concentrated Horatio was looking through the evidence, hoping he had missed something earlier that could tie Thomas to the murder of his wife and to Eric. " Ryan what is that in your hand?" The question took Ryan by surprise because there was no way H could have seen or heard him. "How did you know it was me?"

A smile appeared on Horatio's face, he looked up from his microscope at Ryan, then looked back in his microscope and said: "Because I asked you to come see me in 2 hours. " A puzzled Ryan looked at his watch , nodded and handed over the paper he had brought with him. "You were right, I found blood on one of Thomas Harrison's t shirts. The guy tried to hide it behind the closet in his garage. I just had the DNA results back and the blood does belong to the victim, his wife Kate. The bad news is I couldn't find anything in connection with Eric. No blood spats, no fibres nothing."

"That's okay, good work Ryan"

At the hospital Eric received some good news. He was going to be released in an hour, at least if he could find someone that would take good care of him…

The doctor told a just arrived Calleigh that he would get the paperwork done so they could go home. She looked rather puzzled because she had no idea what he was talking about and Eric's attempts for communication behind the doctor's back wasn't helping as well. She waited for him to leave before she asked what was going on.

"My only ticket out of here is if I have someone to take care of me. I said you'd baby- sit so I could go home. Of course you don't have too." "I don't?" He could hear the disappointment in her voice but he didn't want to rush anything. This was something he couldn't ask of her because of the very recent developments in their relationship.

She sat down on his bed, let her hand rest on his cheek, looked in his eyes and said "You'll stay with me" Eric wanted to say that she didn't have to do it but she put her finger on his mouth telling him to shut up. When she removed her finger, again he wanted to say she didn't have to. This time she shut him up by kissing him.

It was a long and passionate kiss giving both of them butterflies in their stomach. Calleigh was the first to end the kiss only to be followed by a second one…

In the mean time Horatio and Frank were on their way to arrest Thomas.


	5. the end

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"Thomas Harrison, you're under the arrest for the murder of your wife Kate Harrison." By these words Thomas was taken into custody. He tried to plead his innocence to Horatio and Frank but none of them gave him any attention yet…

In the lab Ryan was still unsure about the results so he went to Calleigh for more information. "Calleigh, if you shoot someone from let's say 50 cm, then the entire t-shirt should be covered in blood spatters, right." Calleigh nodded a yes and came closer to where Ryan stood. Together they investigated Thomas' t-shirt again. Calleigh shook her head and Ryan took the words right out of her mouth "It's not him."

Ryan enlightened Horatio with the news of Thomas innocence. Together they went over the interviewees again but none of them seemed to have the closest thing to a possible motive. All were good friends, neighbours, colleges,.. "What about the sister? She's the only one who stated that Thomas was beating his wife, all the other said they were happily married."

"She was, wasn't she? Okay let's bring her in again." Ryan took his cell and called Yelina in order to pick up Eve, Kate's sister.

"Smart, tricking your brother in law for a murder you committed." Yelina commented her. The woman laughed at her and said she didn't know what Yelina was taking about. "Fine, we'll let the evidence talk then." She turned to Ryan and gave him the sign to explain what he had discovered.

"You see, when you shoot someone several times from such a close distance, the blood spatters are suppose to be all over the place, including the shooters t-shirt. On the shirt we've found, the spatters were only till the mid of the shirt." Ryan showed her the pictures and left them on the table so she would be able to take a good look at them.

"Your point is?" Eve asked annoyed. "There's no way, three shots can provide only that much spatters. The blood on the shirt was planted unless the shooter was a 9 year old."

"Okay, but why would I kill my own sister? I loved her."

"But you loved your brother in law more, didn't you? He told us he used to date you but then he met your sister and he was swept of his feet by her. You were jealous so you killed her."

"Prove it."

"That's a stupid thing to say to a CSI." Ryan's words made Yelina laugh, they reminded her of Horatio who said the same thing not so long ago. She regrouped and said that at the very moment the police was searching her house to retrieve her bloody clothes.

Eve her laugh turned into an evil smirk while she confessed her crime "She was always the favourite. She couldn't make any mistakes or do any harm. But she did it to me. She stole MY boyfriend. You damn right I hated her for it. She… they were gonna pay for what they did to me."

"Now it's your time to pay." Yelina said while she closed the file and gave the policemen the sign to bring her away. She also said to Ryan that he did a good job which made him feel proud of himself. When she reached the door she told Eve that the CSI she shot was going to be okay. But she didn't care…

Horatio joined Yelina and together they watched Eve being lead away. She turned to face him but he cut her off and said he was doing okay and that the reason he missed the questioning was because he got held up. She didn't believe him but she let the case rest for the sake of their relationship.

In the meantime Calleigh brought Eric back to her apartment where she told him the murderer was arrested. Eric let out a sigh of relieve, he was glad they found the woman responsible not for his sake but for the woman in the morgue. "I'm glad that's all behind us"

"Yeah" Calleigh answered and placed herself in the couch next to her new boyfriend. He wrapped his arm around her, while she snuck even closer to him. "Thanks for being here and taking care of me." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the mouth, something that still made him blush. This was the first time in a long, long time both of them were happy and they were planning on enjoying it for a long time.

Yelina opened the door after someone knocked on it for a few times. She was surprised to see Horatio standing at her doorstep. He hadn't visited in a while, well actually since she started to date Rick so she knew he really needed her. She didn't say a word and let him in. She offered something to drink which Horatio thanked her for. They started talking about small things like how Ray jr was doing in school, if he was home…

Out of the blue she asked him again if he was okay. He stared at the ground for a minute or two, smiled and admitted that he wasn't. He had a hard time coping with everything that had happened lately. Yelina stood up from her seat and sat down next to him. Her hand touched his chin and made him look her in the eye. "I'm here for you."

He knew she was, but not the way he wanted her to be for him. "Maybe I shouldn't have come" He moved away, stood up and stared out the window. She followed him to where he was standing and let her hand rest on his shoulder. He faced her and let a tear roll down his cheek which she softly wiped away. She whispered: "You've been strong long enough." He let his head rest in her neck and both wrapped their arms around each other. Yelina gave him a small kiss on the mouth, just for comforting. Horatio withheld at first but then he was the one who kissed her. It was a long, loving kiss, something they've both been waiting for, for a long time. Still Horatio was a bit uncertain "Maybe I should go home."

"Stay" Yelina whispered softly in his ear and how could he resist that, especially after she said there was no longer a Rick in her life.


End file.
